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Courses - Spring 2015

Please note that all course offerings are subject to change. Changes in faculty availability and student enrollment can occasionally result in course cancellations.

Click on a course name to see a course description and a sample syllabus from a past semester. (Current syllabi may differ.) For sample syllabi or academic questions, please email global.academics@nyu.edu.

A list of all courses offered at the Global Academic Centers, organized by department, can be found here.

Spring 2015 courses with days and times will be available in Albert, NYU's Student Information System the week of October 13, 2014. Directions on how to view Study Away courses in Albert, and other Registration FAQs can be found here.

Academic Requirements & Registration Guidelines

All students must participate in Global Orientations. Students do not need to enroll for this course during registration.

Enrollment in a Spanish Language course is required; select one that matches your skill level.

Language courses cannot be taken pass/fail

Attendance is expected and required; absences will negatively affect grades

Before you plan your personal travel, check your syllabi! Academic site visits and field trips are considered required class time.

SCA-UA 9042/INDIV-UG 9150 is a permission only class. Students must apply ahead of time for this course. Application information can be found here. During registration week, register for another course as a place holder in case you are not accepted.

Required Course for All Students

The purpose of this class is to introduce the students into key concepts and issues of Contemporary Argentina and its geopolitical context, e.g. Latin America and the World. Through an approach to local, cultural, and political issues the course will address how Argentina interacts with the region and the world, and how this international context impacts on Argentina. The emphasis will be on addressing a number of concepts that are necessary to understand Contemporary Argentina, politics in Buenos Aires and their relationship with the world. Spanish spoken in the Rio de la Plata region will be taught from a pragmatic approach, encouraging the learning and use of local expressions and Argentine Spanish, including political expressions used in the media, political activism and the everyday life of porteños –the inhabitants of Buenos Aires.

This is a one-semester intensive course that covers the equivalent of one year of elementary Spanish (SPAN-UA 1 and SPAN-UA 2). After completing this course, students who wish to continue studying Spanish must take a qualifying examination. Students who pass the examination may go into SPAN-UA 3, which is preparation for SPAN-UA 4. Students with high scores on the qualifying exam may enroll in SPAN-UA 18 (an accelerated version of SPAN-UA 3, which similarly prepares them for SPAN-UA 4) or in SPAN-UA 20. Completion of either SPAN-UA 20 or SPAN-UA 4 fulfills the MAP requirement.

Intensive Spanish for Advanced Beginners is a six-credit intensive language course designed to help students with limited knowledge of Spanish strengthen their language skills and develop their cultural competency. The course covers the material of Spanish 2 and Spanish 3 in one semester. Successful completion of this course prepares students for a fourth semester college Spanish language course.

Promotes proficiency in reading and writing as well as oral performance. SPAN-UA 9020 is an intensive intermediate course that covers the equivalent of one year of intermediate Spanish SPAN-UA 3 and SPAN-UA 4, or SPAN-UA 18 and SPAN-UA 4) in one semester.

Continuation of SPAN- UA 3 or SPAN-UA 3A. Readings and discussions of contemporary Hispanic texts and review of the main grammatical concepts of Spanish. Completion of this course fulfills the MAP foreign language requirement.

Advanced course designed to expand and consolidate lexical and grammatical understanding of the language and to introduce fundamental principles of expository writing as they apply to Spanish, through exercises, readings, and intensive practice of various expository prose techniques and styles. For nonnative speakers only. Prerequisite for NYU students: SPAN-UA 20, SPAN-UA 4, or permission of the director of undergraduate studies.

Spanish for Health Care Professionals is a two-credit course for beginner to intermediate
level students, designed to expand students’ speaking skills beyond the practical, day-to-
day language functions in the medical environment.

The goal of the course is to serve as a complement for the beginner and intermediate level
student pursuing a career in the health care professions or a student generally interested
in communicating with patients in Spanish. It has been structured to serve the specific
needs of the nursing, medical and global public health student community. Students will
typically take this course in conjunction with a beginner or an intermediate level Spanish
language course. This course may not be used toward completion of the MAP language
requirement.

Courses Taught in Spanish at the Intermediate Level

The course is designed for students who want to perfect their Spanish as they expand their knowledge regarding literature, cinema, and social and political problems that exist today within modern Argentine society. The reading of different dramatic texts and viewing of various films throughout the semester will serve to expand lexicon, strengthen grammar and improve the student's style. The objective of this course is that the students familiarize themselves with everyday language of current newspapers and magazines, at the same time as they enter into the world of Spanish literature.

The most important goal of the course is to offer a methodologically simple approximation that helps the student to develop a greater verbal and communicative dexterity. To this end, every week the students will analyze and debate the cultural and literary content texts that are to be studied and every two weeks the students will present a written composition of the topics covered in class. In the classroom linguistic correction will be emphasized along with auditory practice through the use of a wide range of materials and resources: theoretical explanations, comprehension and vocabulary exercises, film viewing, as well as exercises that highlight certain morphological aspects or grammatical usage of Spanish.

Gallatin

Prerequisite: Open to students who have completed SPAN-UA 200 Critical Approaches (or equivalent), or to students enrolled concurrently in SPAN-UA 9200.

Mitos, íconos y tradiciones inventadas is an advanced conversation course, which seeks to make students familiar with the rich and complex history of Latin America through the study of some of its most known and iconic cultural expressions. It does also work as an introductory map to the most influential and widespread approaches in Latin American social sciences, cultural studies and literary criticism. Thus, students will not only have a first encounter with key historical processes that lie behind some well know cultural icons, but also will be introduced to arguments and ways of writing that help constitute modern Latin American educated Spanish. The course will be structured in seven topics; each topic will be covered in two weeks. During these four classes, students will be exposed to different kinds of cultural materials, including literary texts, film, papers from several disciplines, theater plays, art shows and live concerts.

The objective of the course is to analyze the social, cultural and political transformations experienced in Argentina during the XX century. The scheduled activities are divided into theory-practice classes and cultural visits. There are required readings for the classes which are usually based in a general bibliography that will give the student a factual context of each unit. Ideas exchange will take place, so the students should read the material in advance in order to continue with the course. The objective of cultural activities is to link the students with the material dimension of history, putting themselves in contact with crucial clues for its comprehension.

Latin American & Spanish Studies

Open to students who have completed Advanced Grammar and Composition or enrolled concurrently in Advanced Grammar and Composition.

La lengua de Buenos Aires is an advanced conversation course, which seeks to make students familiar with the most outstanding features of the Spanish of the Rio de la Plata area. It does also work as an introductory map to the main problems and questions of the culture of the city of Buenos Aires. Through a lively discussion of current cultural conflicts in politics, literature, music, drama and film, the course will enhance the listening and reading abilities of the students, while improving their speaking and writing proficiency in Spanish. These said conflicts and their transformations are key to an understanding of the way porteños speak and think. From a first section devoted to political discourse, we will move onto a consideration of its rhetorical precedents in argentine literature. This will give us the critical tools we need to further our inquiries in other fields such as rock, drama, journalism and film.

Introduction to literary analysis through close reading of texts from the early to modern periods of peninsular Spanish and Spanish American literatures. Engages students in the practice of textual explication, provides basic critical skills, and encourages reflection on literature as a system. This course is the gateway course for students interested in pursuing advanced literature courses in Spanish. With very few exceptions, students must have completed Critical Approaches before taking advanced literature courses taught in Spanish.

Prerequisite: Open to students who have completed SPAN-UA 200 Critical Approaches (or equivalent), or to students enrolled concurrently in SPAN-UA 9200.

Mitos, íconos y tradiciones inventadas is an advanced conversation course, which seeks to make students familiar with the rich and complex history of Latin America through the study of some of its most known and iconic cultural expressions. It does also work as an introductory map to the most influential and widespread approaches in Latin American social sciences, cultural studies and literary criticism. Thus, students will not only have a first encounter with key historical processes that lie behind some well know cultural icons, but also will be introduced to arguments and ways of writing that help constitute modern Latin American educated Spanish. The course will be structured in seven topics; each topic will be covered in two weeks. During these four classes, students will be exposed to different kinds of cultural materials, including literary texts, film, papers from several disciplines, theater plays, art shows and live concerts.

Prerequisite: Open to students who have completed SPAN-UA 200 Critical Approaches (or equivalent), or to students enrolled concurrently in SPAN-UA 9200.

The course is designed to introduce students to the work of Jorge Luis Borges, one of the most influential writers of the twentieth century. Through reading, analysis, and discussion of short fiction or poems and critical bibliography, the students will examine the dichotomy civilization-barbarism in Borges works (in connection to the Argentine cultural tradition since nineteenth century); some key topics in his texts such as tigers, labyrinths and libraries; the relationship between writing and translation (specifically in the English translations of his fictions); the political aspects of the literature produced by Borges and other contemporary Argentine writers on Eva Perón. The course will also develop the connections between Borges and other contemporary Argentine writers.

This course deals with themes of culture, cultural identity and the politics of culture and identity, with reference to five specific Latin American cases: a). Indigenous communities of the Amazon (Achuar) and the Pampas-Patagonia region (Mapuche, Rankülche); b) Andean peasants (Aymaras) and indigenous proletariat of the Chaco (Toba); c). working class and ethnic neighborhoods of the city. By means of this empirical survey we hope to illustrate and discuss the some of the different ideas that have come to the fore in recent debates about “culture,” including essentialism and constructivism; rethinking of the nature/culture dichotomy; and the idea of cultural identity as a right, as a strategy of domination or as a form of resistance, etc.

Courses Taught in English

American Studies (Social & Cultural Analysis)

In the last ten years, several Latin American nations have witnessed decisive progress in the legal recognition of non-normative sexualities and gender identities. Argentina passed the same-sex marriage law in 2010 and the gender identity law in 2011, followed by Uruguay; Colombia approved the legal recognition of same sex couples, and in Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, the pressure of queer demands and visibility in the public sphere is stronger than ever. The conventional map of “advanced democracies” crafting models of democratization that could be exported to less developed nations seems definitely challenged: a new understanding of the complex, and multiple temporalities of queer cultures in North and South America is more necessary than ever.

In order to explore this rich and multi-layered landscape, this course wants to trace and reconstruct the historical detours of queer cultures in Buenos Aires and New York. Taking as starting point the present context of growing acceptance and inclusion of queer citizens both in Latin America and the US, the course revisits the last three decades in order to question the dominant and frequently reductive narratives of steady, lineal progress. Our goal is precisely to advance a periodization sensitive to the nuances and contradictions of this complex historical transformation.

Applied Psychology

A comprehensive overview of human development from conception through adolescence. Theories of developmental psychology are related to research findings, & implications are drawn for practical issues. Liberal Arts Core/CORE Equivalent - satisfies the requirement for Society & Social Sciences

Cinema Studies

A survey of anticolonialist cinema with special emphasis on Latin America. Despite conditions of economic and political oppression, Latin America has managed in recent years to forge a dynamically original cinema. After studying some European films that highlight the colonial background of current struggles in the world, we take a brief look at African cinema and then look closely at Latin American cinema, with films from Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Cuba. The emphasis throughout is on a common theme – the struggle against foreign domination and on the search for an authentic, innovative national cinematic style.

College Core Curriculum

Please be aware that NYU CAS students will be given registration priority for this course. CAS students will be able to register at their regularuly assigned appointment time. Non-NYU CAS students will be able to register on Friday of registration week.

Over the last 50 years, millions of Latin Americans have experienced extraordinary shifts in their social, political, and cultural landscape, a result of the transformative effects of revolution or insurgency, state repression, popular resistance and social movements. We focus on events that had continental, hemispheric, and even global impact, including the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the military coups of the 1970s, and the Zapatista uprising in 1994. Drawing on a range of primary sources and cultural forms, we listen carefully to the voices of the major social actors of the time. Our sources are drawn from a wide range of media: newsprint, television broadcasts, transcripts, testimony, essay, documentary and feature film, art, and music. We deliberately mix artistic representations with documentary evidence to understand how the arts—music, visual art, literature, film—do not just reflect the reality around them, but are themselves vital sites for shaping and changing that reality and our imagination of it, both then and now.

Creative Writing

A practical course in the writing of creative literary texts: prose (short stories as well as literary non-fiction) and poetry. Selected published works will be analyzed in class both to provide inspiration for student writing as well as to represent literary structures and strategies. Writing assignments ranging from spontaneous to long-term projects will promote creative exploration and self-expression. Critical skills are emphasized and enhanced as students respond to each others’ work. Awareness of correct conventional use of the English language will be upheld. Students build up a body of work over the semester. For full credit and in demonstration of a writing “process,” the final portfolios should include both first drafts and subsequent revisions. At least one longer text (or set of poems) will be selected for submission as would be appropriate to publishers or literary contests.

There are two parts to this course. In the first part of the course we will study two of the main financial asset markets: bond markets and stock markets. We will study the concept and determination of interest rates; the risk structure and the term structure of interest rates; stock pricing and the efficient markets hypothesis; cross-border arbitrage. We will also analyze financial structure in Argentina and other Latin American banks.

In the second part of the course we will study the monetary and financial system. We will study how money is created, the tools of monetary policy, the commercial banking industry and its links to monetary policy and the Central Bank, and how monetary policy affects the economy in general. In this part we will also analyze how market failures (such as information asymmetries) and distortionary policies (such as financial repression) may hinder the contribution of financial markets and monetary policy to macroeconomic stability. The roles of state-owned banks in Latin American economies will also be discussed.

Gallatin

A practical course in the writing of creative literary texts: prose (short stories as well as literary non-fiction) and poetry. Selected published works will be analyzed in class both to provide inspiration for student writing as well as to represent literary structures and strategies. Writing assignments ranging from spontaneous to long-term projects will promote creative exploration and self-expression. Critical skills are emphasized and enhanced as students respond to each others’ work. Awareness of correct conventional use of the English language will be upheld. Students build up a body of work over the semester. For full credit and in demonstration of a writing “process,” the final portfolios should include both first drafts and subsequent revisions. At least one longer text (or set of poems) will be selected for submission as would be appropriate to publishers or literary contests.

This course brings together students in New York and Buenos Aires to examine how urban arts and politics intersect in the Americas. Two sections, one in each city, will meet and collaborate simultaneously via internet to address several key questions: How are art and politics understood and expressed differently and similarly in these two American metropolises and why? How do shared aesthetic features of public art reflect the global circulation of urban creative modes? What do we learn about local politics from looking at the art and writing on a city’s public spaces? Teams of students in both cities will conduct field work in selected neighborhoods to help create an archive of murals, graffiti, performances, and installations. Then, drawing from readings in history, art criticism, and urban studies, as well as from census and electoral data and using GIS technology, we will analyze how social and political processes like gentrification, inequality, and planning generate and reflect creative political expression as captured in our database, culminating in transnational, collaborative projects that explore what wisdom and truths America's streets continue to reveal, 500 years after conquest.

This course requires a 90-minute weekly seminar and a minimum of 10 hours fieldwork a week at an approved internship field site. The seminar is designed to complement your internship fieldwork, exploring many different aspects of your organization and of Argentine Civil Society. Your goal is to finish the semester with an in-depth understanding of your agency. The course provides you with tools to analyze your organization’s approach, its policies, its programs, and the political, legal, social, economic and cultural contexts in which it operates. Guest-speakers are invited to the seminar and case studies on Argentina civil society are discussed.&nbsp; You will also spend time reflecting on the internship experience itself as a way to better understand your academic, personal, and career goals.

Gender and Sexuality Studies (Social & Cultural Analysis)

In the last ten years, several Latin American nations have witnessed decisive progress in the legal recognition of non-normative sexualities and gender identities. Argentina passed the same-sex marriage law in 2010 and the gender identity law in 2011, followed by Uruguay; Colombia approved the legal recognition of same sex couples, and in Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, the pressure of queer demands and visibility in the public sphere is stronger than ever. The conventional map of “advanced democracies” crafting models of democratization that could be exported to less developed nations seems definitely challenged: a new understanding of the complex, and multiple temporalities of queer cultures in North and South America is more necessary than ever.

In order to explore this rich and multi-layered landscape, this course wants to trace and reconstruct the historical detours of queer cultures in Buenos Aires and New York. Taking as starting point the present context of growing acceptance and inclusion of queer citizens both in Latin America and the US, the course revisits the last three decades in order to question the dominant and frequently reductive narratives of steady, lineal progress. Our goal is precisely to advance a periodization sensitive to the nuances and contradictions of this complex historical transformation.

Global Liberal Studies

This course combines a seminar based weekly section together with intensive internships in businesses, NGOs or other organizations. The experiential part will consist of 10 weekly hours of work within a pre-arranged organization. The academic part is meant to assist students in getting the most from this experience and provide theoretical and methodological elements to critically examine their experiences. It weaves together research design and methods with an empirical and theoretical examination of recent social phenomena in Argentina. We will use selected themes and topics to explore theoretical perspectives and selected aspects of contemporary Argentine society. In parallel we will explore how to construct a research project, collect data and analyze its contents.

Global Public Health

Epidemiology is the science that studies the distribution and determinants of health and illness in human populations. It is intimately related to public health and policy making, as it provides elemental “information for action”. This course is designed to introduce students to the history, basic principles and methods of epidemiology.

Topics covered in this course are history, background and different perspectives of epidemiology, measures of disease frequency; measures of association; epidemiologic study designs; public health surveillance; outbreak investigations; assessment of causality; and relationship between epidemiology and public health policies. In addition, students are expected to develop skills to critically read, interpret and evaluate health information from published epidemiological studies and mass media sources.

This course is currently marked as tentative, pending the approved appointemnt of an instructor.

This course introduces students to key concepts in health policy formation, implementation and evaluation in a global context. Using a comparative lens, students explore organization, financing and delivery of health care services and health systems around the world. We examine the role of governmental and non-governmental agencies in delivering care and contributing to a health care infrastructure using case studies and other materials in a comparative approach. Key lessons in the implementation of new health policies and initiatives are explored across the developing world, as well as in a US as students explore health system performance, the quality and cost of care, the management of health care services, the process of health improvement and health reform. The course will use a multidisciplinary approach that employs sociological, political, economics, and ethical perspectives. The objective is to build an understanding of the fundamental ideas, issues, and problems currently debated in global health policy and management and to provide a foundation for future studies and careers in the global health field. Epidemiology in a Global World and Health and Society in a Global Context are recommended but not required pre-requisites for the course.

Journalism

NYU Media, Culture, & Communication students can take this course for major/minor credit.

In this course students will develop, pitch, research, report, write, edit and present original articles of various kinds on several subjects throughout the semester. Using the city and people of Buenos Aires as their focus, students will work in teams for some projects and individually for others to hone their skills as observers, interviewers, reporters and writers.

Latin American Studies

A survey of anticolonialist cinema with special emphasis on Latin America. Despite conditions of economic and political oppression, Latin America has managed in recent years to forge a dynamically original cinema. After studying some European films that highlight the colonial background of current struggles in the world, we take a brief look at African cinema and then look closely at Latin American cinema, with films from Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Cuba. The emphasis throughout is on a common theme – the struggle against foreign domination and on the search for an authentic, innovative national cinematic style.

In the last ten years, several Latin American nations have witnessed decisive progress in the legal recognition of non-normative sexualities and gender identities. Argentina passed the same-sex marriage law in 2010 and the gender identity law in 2011, followed by Uruguay; Colombia approved the legal recognition of same sex couples, and in Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, the pressure of queer demands and visibility in the public sphere is stronger than ever. The conventional map of “advanced democracies” crafting models of democratization that could be exported to less developed nations seems definitely challenged: a new understanding of the complex, and multiple temporalities of queer cultures in North and South America is more necessary than ever.

In order to explore this rich and multi-layered landscape, this course wants to trace and reconstruct the historical detours of queer cultures in Buenos Aires and New York. Taking as starting point the present context of growing acceptance and inclusion of queer citizens both in Latin America and the US, the course revisits the last three decades in order to question the dominant and frequently reductive narratives of steady, lineal progress. Our goal is precisely to advance a periodization sensitive to the nuances and contradictions of this complex historical transformation.

Latino Studies (Social & Cultural Analysis)

In the last ten years, several Latin American nations have witnessed decisive progress in the legal recognition of non-normative sexualities and gender identities. Argentina passed the same-sex marriage law in 2010 and the gender identity law in 2011, followed by Uruguay; Colombia approved the legal recognition of same sex couples, and in Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, the pressure of queer demands and visibility in the public sphere is stronger than ever. The conventional map of “advanced democracies” crafting models of democratization that could be exported to less developed nations seems definitely challenged: a new understanding of the complex, and multiple temporalities of queer cultures in North and South America is more necessary than ever.

In order to explore this rich and multi-layered landscape, this course wants to trace and reconstruct the historical detours of queer cultures in Buenos Aires and New York. Taking as starting point the present context of growing acceptance and inclusion of queer citizens both in Latin America and the US, the course revisits the last three decades in order to question the dominant and frequently reductive narratives of steady, lineal progress. Our goal is precisely to advance a periodization sensitive to the nuances and contradictions of this complex historical transformation.

Media, Culture, & Communication

This course proposes a historical and cultural approach to the development of the popular press, cinema, radio, television and the contemporary processes of the new media. There is a central question for the course: Is there any singularity in Latin American media? The answer assumes that there is a specific relation between tradition and modernity in Latin American societies with many consequences for mass culture and media. The constitution of mass audiences in societies where literacy was not a universal value, made significant the development of audiovisual media. The course will focus on melodrama as a configuration that made possible the emergence of specific genres in Latin American cinema, radio and television. Particularly, the “telenovela” is simultaneously an aesthetic, industrial and audience phenomenon with local and global circulation. Finally, the course will discuss the role of media in dictatorship and democratic processes. Censorship and alternative media enabled many different practices for radio journalists, filmmakers or contemporary bloggers.

This course requires a 90-minute weekly seminar and a minimum of 10 hours fieldwork a week at an approved internship field site. The seminar is designed to complement your internship fieldwork, exploring many different aspects of your organization and of Argentine Civil Society. Your goal is to finish the semester with an in-depth understanding of your agency. The course provides you with tools to analyze your organization’s approach, its policies, its programs, and the political, legal, social, economic and cultural contexts in which it operates. Guest-speakers are invited to the seminar and case studies on Argentina civil society are discussed.&nbsp; You will also spend time reflecting on the internship experience itself as a way to better understand your academic, personal, and career goals.

Music

This course is a journey through the different styles of Latin American Folk and Popular Music (LAFM), particularly those coming from Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay. Their roots, influences and characteristics. Their social and historical context. Their uniqueness and similarities. Emphasis in the rhythmic aspect of folk music as a foundation for dance and as a resource of cultural identity. The irruption of Latin American rhythms in the music market through the World Musicâphenomenon. Even though there is no musical prerequisite, the course is recommended for students with any kind and/or level of musical experience.

Politics

The aim is for the student to have a full understanding of Latin America's insertion in the global structure of international relations. Covering in parallel the evolution of the international system and the changing position of the region in that same system, the course attempts to reinterpret the frameworks of analysis as perceived from the Western Hemisphere. The student will be provided with a Latin American view of the main economic developments and political processes that have given shape to each stage in time- to the structure and dynamics of the international system. The ultimate goal is to make students aware that where you stand depends on where you sit by exposing them to alternate views on concepts they are already familiar with.

Social and Cultural Analysis

Courses listed under the Social and Cultural Analysis heading count for Social and Cultural Analysis major or minor credit. Additional courses offered by the SCA department can be found under the appropriate area(s) of study. Students are always encouraged to check with their departmental advisor regarding which courses count for major and minor credit.

In the last ten years, several Latin American nations have witnessed decisive progress in the legal recognition of non-normative sexualities and gender identities. Argentina passed the same-sex marriage law in 2010 and the gender identity law in 2011, followed by Uruguay; Colombia approved the legal recognition of same sex couples, and in Mexico, Cuba, Brazil, the pressure of queer demands and visibility in the public sphere is stronger than ever. The conventional map of “advanced democracies” crafting models of democratization that could be exported to less developed nations seems definitely challenged: a new understanding of the complex, and multiple temporalities of queer cultures in North and South America is more necessary than ever.

In order to explore this rich and multi-layered landscape, this course wants to trace and reconstruct the historical detours of queer cultures in Buenos Aires and New York. Taking as starting point the present context of growing acceptance and inclusion of queer citizens both in Latin America and the US, the course revisits the last three decades in order to question the dominant and frequently reductive narratives of steady, lineal progress. Our goal is precisely to advance a periodization sensitive to the nuances and contradictions of this complex historical transformation.